War on Yemen waged by US, Saudi Arabia: Ansarullah

Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement has accused the US, which has recently put forward a peace plan for the war-torn country, of leading the ongoing aggression against Yemen along with Saudi Arabia.

Speaking late on Friday, Ansarullah spokesman Mohammad Abdulsalam highlighted the negative role of Washington in the war on Yemen, saying the US is among the states that are involved in the aggression against the impoverished country rather than a mediator between the Yemeni forces and the Riyadh regime.

He further pointed to Washington-Riyadh relations and warned that the US is blackmailing Saudi Arabia and this practice will intensify in the future.

The war on Yemen is a US-Saudi one, with Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi having no role in the offensive, Abdulsalam said, stressing that history will prove this assertion.

The aggression was started in a bid to overcome the will of the Yemeni people, he added.

Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement spokesman Mohammad Abdulsalam

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a regional visit that he had presented Houthi delegates with a document outlining a ceasefire and peace deal.

The Houthis agreed to observe the truce provided that the other side implemented it, Abdulsalam said. Riyadh also announced a 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen, but did not halt their airstrikes.

The Ansarullah spokesman said Saudi Arabia is opposed to the peace plan, but Ansarullah is committed to the deal so long as the opposite side honors it.

Abdulsalam said the agreement will be presented to Hadi for signing.

Hadi in Aden

The former president flew into Aden from his base in Saudi Arabia Saturday on a surprise visit to the headquarters of his beleaguered militant group, an aide said.

Hadi is expected to stay for a few days in the southern port city, which is rife with frequent unrest 18 months after his loyalists stormed the city with the Saudi support.

It is Hadi’s first visit to Aden in a year and comes two months after self-styled prime minister Ahmed bin Dagher and seven ministers set up base in the city.

Hadi’s loyalists have faced repeated attack by Takfiri militants of both al-Qaeda and its rival, the Daesh group and his security chiefs in Aden have been a particular target.

Abdulsalam said the Ansarullah movement has lost nothing by agreeing to the peace deal and will not negotiate with anybody before the first phase of the accord takes effect.

Washington used to rely on Riyadh on issues related to Yemen, but it was forced to put aside the kingdom and directly engage with the Yemeni side, he added.

The official said Ansarullah reserves the right to defend itself with all means against any act of aggression and hostility by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Saudi Arabia has been conducting airstrikes against Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to crush the Houthis and reinstate the former Yemeni administration. The war has left at least 11,400 civilians dead, according to a latest tally by a Yemeni monitoring group.

The US has also been providing logistic and surveillance support to the kingdom in the bloody military campaign.